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Career Interview Clips

Developing An Internship Course

What Should You Consider In Developing An Internship Course?

Here are a few questions that should be considered when developing an internship course.

What will be the minimum criteria students must meet in order to qualify for an internship? For example, most departments use such criteria as the following: (1) 2.5 overall GPA (2) 2.5 or 3.0 average in the major (3) completion of certain required basic courses.

What grading options will be offered? A- F or Pass - Fail

Which faculty members will be responsible for supervising interns?

How many hours of internship can be applied to the major? Some departments allow to apply three hours of internship credit to the major. Any other credit must be used as elective hours. * What kinds of assessment techniques will be used?

Will there be site visits? If no site visits are possible, how will you maintain contact with the intern and his or her site supervisor? * What should be included in the prospective intern’s academic plan?

Will credit be allowed if the student earns a grade lower than “C”?

What activities will be cause for termination of an intern? * What kind (if any) of exit interview/essay will the department require?

What will be the course number? Check the course numbers used by other departments. It’s better if departments try finding a consensus on the course number for internships so it’s the same across the university.

What kind of orientation will your department provide for interns before they go out to the internship site? * Have you developed a student handbook and/or checklist to guide students through the process (Career Services ).

How will academic credit be awarded? Remember credit should not be for work already done. A common equivalency used on campus is 1 hour of academic credit for every 40 contact hours. That equivalency would result in the following ratios: